Since the deal expires this month, I’d say we’re almost certainly sending him back. That was my impression the moment I heard on the commentary it was osteitis pubis.
1 Like
He isn’t going to say “we don’t want to keep him” in public about a current player until it is a done deal.
4 Likes
Exactly. The interview I heard with Talay was something like “Yeah he’s been quality and we’re looking at whether we can keep him”. Since the first part is a clear lie there’s no reason the latter part isn’t also a lie. He was quite possibly the source of most of our defensive woes which have improved a lot since he has stopped playing.
1 Like
That we haven’t already sent him back says a lot.
He’s on loan. He’s got a long term injury.
It isn’t and shouldn’t be our problem.
You’re talking about Lachie Jackson being at the top of your list.
That is sad enough on its own, and the only thing sadder is that with other clubs also desperate in the same position we could miss out on even that.
In this market you absolutely don’t send away a domestic defender until a better alternative is locked in.
1 Like
What is sad about considering an australian player who has played recently reguarly in a league better than ours in a position we desperately need?
Because you didnt rate him 5 years ago?
I have no reason to believe that he’s there for any reason other than satisfying a well-established K-League archetype, and his form there looks just as middling as it did here
Depends on how the loan deal works. But youll find clubs will be less likely to deal with us on loans if, the moment a player gets injured, we dump him with them to pay for treatment
I think they mentioned in commentary that Popovic has Osteitis Pubis?
Yeah but why hasnt he played lately??
4 Likes
Dunno. Maybe he’s injured.
During the first game he missed, I’m pretty sure that he was described as being ‘at risk of’ OP, and he was being rested to avoid it progressing to that stage.
One week later, he was listed as available for the match against CCM and is again in the squad for tomorrow night — listed as “promoted” this time rather than “returning from injury”. I don’t think anyone recovers from full-blown OP that quickly.
Obviously take it with a few grains of salt depending on how much you believe the club’s reports.
Most players return to their parent club if they suffer a long term injury. The parent club gets to implement the treatment and recovery ensuring it is carried out to their standards something that cannot be guaranteed by the loaning club especially if there is no loan to buy option on the table.
But Popovic wouldn’t be on a long term injury would he? He’s only really been out for 2 weeks and the first game of that was reportedly a precautionary one. We also don’t know what’s happening long term in terms of signing a CB in general. We might even be looking at a potential Popovic/Grant pairing in the middle.
It was mentioned last match that it was Osteitis Pubis.
That needs a lengthy rest period to recover from and his loan finishes in a couple of weeks.
We’ve had players out for months with OP before. Simon Colosimo is one that immediately springs to mind.
Peter Triantis was out for a full season at a similar age.
Antonis too iirc.
South Korean club is probably happy for a player to be managed by Australian specialists.
And why would/should we pay his wages all season if its a loan, he has what is likely a serious injury and the current deal is up at the end of the month?
2 Likes